Published

‘Once Upon A Time’ Season 4 Finale Recap: “Operation Mongoose”

In the season finale of Once Upon a Time, the Author has flipped the world upside down as heroes become villains and vice versa.

Snow White has taken over the role of the Evil Queen, and Charming answers to her as she holds his heart ransom. Snow was in love with his twin James and blames Regina for his death.

Henry is the only one who knows the truth. When the Author writes “the end” on the end of his story, Henry is left abandoned in Storybrooke. He goes in search of his family only to discover a book written by Isaac entitled “Heroes and Villains” detailing how he changed the stories. Cornering him at a book signing, Henry threatens to use the key and the page of the door to trap the Author if he doesn’t fix things.

The Author informs Henry he lost his power to write stories when he wrote the last story. Henry opens the book and uses the key to send him to the Enchanted Forest with the Author. There, Henry is shocked to find the stories and the people he know changed, including Gold being a knight who’s married to Belle and has a child. He goes in search of Regina and tries to get her to believe his tale. He believes if Regina finds Robin and kisses him, the world he knows will be righted.

Failing to get anywhere with Regina, Henry enlists the help of Hook to find Emma. Though Hook is a meek deckhand in this world, he helps Henry anyway. They find Emma locked away in a tower. Good news! Emma remembers everything and they are off to fix things.

Emma, Hook and Henry are cornered by Snow White and Charming. Hook sacrifices himself to let Emma and Hook escape. Emma is horrified to see Hook killed.

As Emma and Henry try to help Regina stop Robin’s wedding, Gold appears to try and stop them. Regina, torn between stopping the wedding and saving Henry who is about to be killed by Gold, steps in front of Gold’s sword and is stabbed. With the bell ringing signaling the end of the story, Isaac shows up to celebrate his triumph.

When Emma punches him, his pen falls out. Henry picks it up and it starts to glow – he is the next Author. Henry uses Regina’s blood to re-write Isaac’s story and send everyone back to Storybrooke and put things the way they were supposed to be – which mean’s Gold is dying as his heart turns completely black.

Belle asks for help, as Gold is dying, and they bring in the Apprentice. He attempts to trap the darkness in the Sorcerer’s Hat and for a time it looks like it worked. But the darkness, no longer tethered to a human and the dagger, is set loose.

The Apprentice informs them they need to find the Sorcerer, who turns out to be Merlin, to help contain the darkness again. But the task grows larger as Emma sacrifices herself, as the darkness attempts to consume Regina, and takes it on herself.

When Emma it totally consumed, she disappears and the episode ends with a view of the dagger that now bears the name “Emma Swan.”